About Naropa
About Naropa
Located in Boulder, Colorado, Naropa University is a Buddhist-inspired, nonsectarian liberal arts university that is recognized as the birthplace of the mindfulness movement. Naropa offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that emphasize professional and personal growth, intellectual development, and cultivating compassion.
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Academics
Contemplative education brings together the best of Western scholarship and Eastern world wisdom traditions. Therefore, your pursuit of wisdom at Naropa means learning both about academic subjects and about your own place in the world. This innovative approach places Naropa on the cutting edge of the newest and most effective methods of teaching and learning.
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Admissions & Aid
If you’re seeking an education that resonates with both personal fulfillment and global impact, Naropa could be your top choice. At Naropa, you will experience a comprehensive curriculum that integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational approaches. Explore how Naropa can fuel your journey of intellectual and spiritual development.
Life at Naropa
Life at Naropa
Through its incredibly vibrant and welcoming community, “Naropa offers a home for those who aren’t willing to conform to convention—the mystic, the healer, the prophet, the rebel, the artist, the revolutionary, the oddball—those who are incredible contributors to the evolution of society and of our planet.”—Core Associate Professor Zvi Ish-Shalom
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The Naropa Difference
The Naropa Difference
How is Naropa different from other universities? At Naropa, a liberal arts education balances rigorous academics with powerful interpersonal skills and self-awareness to educate the whole person. Naropa’s contemplative approach is inspired by Buddhist philosophy and the conviction that we can build a diverse, contemplative, enlightened society when we have transformed education to affirm the basic goodness of every person.
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At a time when the value of higher education is being questioned, Naropa University stands firmly rooted in its mission to create a more just and regenerative world by nurturing insight, awareness, courage, and compassion in its students. By making a gift to Naropa, you play a pivotal role in helping to create the authentic, effective & mindful leaders that the world desperately needs.
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Academics › Schools Centers › Joanna Macy Center for Resilience & Regeneration › Resources

Joanna Macy Center Resources

Climate Crisis as a Spiritual Path

This 20-minute interview with Joanna Macy will help answer an essential question:
How are we going to live our lives fully, with inner peace and courage (and even joy) as we confront a world that is destroying itself?
Joanna is also featured in our film THE WISDOM TO SURVIVE: Climate Change, Capitalism & Community.

Run time: 21:02

Conversations on the Co-Arising of Self and Society with Dr Joanna Macy

Recorded April 22, 2021

Earth Justice Week 2021
Keynote Speech by Dr. Joanna Macy
With Faculty Lead Professor Sherry Ellms, and Sustainability Director Michael Bauer

Join us for an intimate discussion on “Self and Society”, with Dr. Joanna Macy and Naropa’s own Sherry Ellms, faculty lead for the Joanna Macy Center at Naropa, and core faculty in the Environmental Studies Program.

Enjoy a rare conversation between Joanna, Sherry from Earth Justice Day. Joanna chose this topic from her book World as Lover, World as Self. Here, it is reformatted as a discussion in order to evoke the energies and confluences that shaped the course of history on Earth from the dawn of human civilization. These conversations still ring true today as we look back with a critical eye on the parts of this collective living organism we call society.

Run time: 1:32:18

Nuclear Guardianship: Sacred People, Sacred Earth

Recorded on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Presented in collaboration with Joanna Macy Center, Office of Sustainability, and the Nuclear Nexus Project of Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, join Naropa faculty and experts from Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center to learn more about ways to take local action in the fight against nuclear weapons and current land use proposals impacting the contaminated former Rocky Flatts nuclear weapons facility just 10 miles south of Boulder.

Run time: 1:27:39

'A Wild Love for the World' Joanna Macy's Book Launch Event

Recorded on October 2, 2020 The Joanna Macy Center at Naropa University hosted a book launch event for Joanna Macy’s most recent book, ‘A Wild Love for the World’ This event was moderated by the editor of the book, Stephanie Kaza, and joined by co-authors and panelists in the talk.

Run time: 1:36:15

The Shambhala Prophecy told by Joanna Macy

Run time: 08:33

Coming Back to Life

The original Coming Back to Life has helped people transform denial, despair and grief in the face of the social and ecological challenges of our…

Deep Times

Deep Times is the official journal for the Work that Reconnects and can be found here. Here at the Joanna Macy Center at Naropa University, we are deep…

KGNU Radio interview with Joanna Macy

Three activists on preparing for the trump regime

Hemispheres
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017
Host: Elena Klaver

KGNU Radio recording with Dan Ellsberg

Nuclear Winter Saturday, April 28, 2018

Joanna Macy Center Resources

Climate Crisis as a Spiritual Path

Conversations on the Co-Arising of Self and Society with Dr Joanna Macy

Nuclear Guardianship: Sacred People, Sacred Earth

'A Wild Love for the World' Joanna Macy's Book Launch Event

The Shambhala Prophecy told by Joanna Macy

Further Readings & Interviews

Coming Back to Life

Deep Times

KGNU Radio interview with Joanna Macy

KGNU Radio recording with Dan Ellsberg

YOU ARE READY.

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Naropa University campuses are closed on 05/06/2026.

Spring and Summer Start Dates for the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Concentrations

In support of students and in response to federal legislation impacting financial aid for graduate students, Naropa University will be accepting applications for MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling for spring starts through January 10.